Morning Prayer
Feria (Green)
Psalms: Psalm 118
King James Version
1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever. 2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. 4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever. 5 I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place. 6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? 7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. 8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. 10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them. 11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. 12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. 13 Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me. 14 The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. 15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. 16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. 17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. 18 The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: 20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. 23 This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. 24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD. 27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 28 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. 29 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
First Lesson: Ezekiel 1:1-14
King James Version
1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him. 4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. 6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. 8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. 9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
Second Lesson: Colossians 1:21-2:7
King James Version
21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; 24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: 25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. 1 For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; 2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. 5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Reflection
“The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” Ezekiel received that vision not in Jerusalem, not in the Temple, and not in circumstances of comfort. He was among the captives by the river Chebar, in a foreign land, with the people of God humbled and displaced. Yet the first thing the vision declares is that God is not confined to one place. The glory of the Lord reaches even into exile.
The vision itself is difficult to picture: whirlwind, cloud, fire, brightness, living creatures, wings, faces, and lightning. We are not meant to reduce it to a neat diagram. We are meant to be overwhelmed by the majesty and freedom of God. The living creatures go wherever the Spirit directs; they do not turn aside or hesitate. Heaven is not in confusion. Beneath the strangeness there is order: God is present, God is moving, and God’s will is being carried out.
That is good news for a people who might think that their circumstances prove God has abandoned them. Ezekiel’s generation could look at captivity and conclude that the Lord’s power had failed. The vision teaches otherwise. The Lord is not defeated by the world’s powers, nor restricted by our limitations. As the psalm says, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” Human rulers and earthly arrangements change. The mercy of the Lord endureth for ever.
And the Epistle tells us where this mighty and holy God has made his presence known most fully: in Jesus Christ. “You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.” The God whose glory Ezekiel saw is not merely power at a distance. In the body of Christ’s flesh, through death, he has drawn near to reconcile sinners to himself.
This is the heart of the gospel. We do not make ourselves acceptable to God by our own strength, nor do we find our way back by private wisdom. Christ has reconciled us. He presents his people “holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.” That is grace indeed—but it is grace that calls us to remain firm: “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.”
The Christian life is therefore not a frantic attempt to earn God’s favour. It is the life of those who have been reconciled, learning to stand upon that reconciliation. Saint Paul describes it as being “rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith.” A tree does not remain alive by constantly pulling itself up to inspect its roots. It grows by remaining planted. So we are to remain in Christ: receiving the faith once delivered, attending to the Scriptures and the prayers of the Church, coming faithfully to the Lord’s Table, and refusing the enticing words that would draw us away from the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Christ.
Notice too the character of this steadfast life: it abounds “with thanksgiving.” The psalm begins and ends with the same confession: “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.” Thanksgiving is not reserved for easy days. Israel sang it in distress; the Church sings it amid the uncertainties of this world. We give thanks not because every circumstance is good, but because God is good in every circumstance.
The rejected stone has become the headstone of the corner. What the world refuses, God establishes. Christ crucified is Christ exalted; Christ apparently defeated is Christ become our salvation. Therefore, whatever our present place—whether secure or unsettled, joyful or burdened—we need not imagine that God is absent. His Spirit still moves, his mercy still endures, and “Christ in you” remains “the hope of glory.”
Let us then continue in the faith, rooted in Christ, steadfast in hope, and abounding in thanksgiving. For this is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Evening Prayer
Feria (Green)
Psalms: Psalm 119, Pts 1, 2
King James Version
1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. 2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. 4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. 5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! 6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. 7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. 8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly. 9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. 13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
First Lesson: Ezekiel 1:15-end
King James Version
15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. 18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. 19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. 23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. 24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings. 25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings. 26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. 27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
Second Lesson: John 14
King James Version
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
Reflection
The readings today bring us before the glory of God, and then place that glory before us in the face of Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel sees wheels within wheels, living creatures, a firmament like terrible crystal, and above it all a throne of sapphire. It is a vision of movement and majesty. The wheels go wherever the spirit goes; they turn not aside; they are full of eyes. Nothing is hidden from the Lord, and nothing can confine him. He is not a local deity, shut up in one temple or tied to one piece of earth. His glory is sovereign and living. Wherever his Spirit goes, there he is.
And yet, at the height of this overwhelming vision, Ezekiel sees “the likeness as the appearance of a man” upon the throne. The glory of God is not an impersonal force. The living God reigns, speaks, and makes himself known. Ezekiel falls upon his face—not because he has solved a puzzle, but because he has encountered holiness.
Then, in the Gospel, we discover how God’s glory comes near to us. Jesus says, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” The God whom Ezekiel saw in splendour is made known in the Son. We do not need to climb up into heaven, or construct some private vision of God, in order to find him. We find the Father in Jesus Christ: in his words, his works, his obedience, and supremely in the love which carries him towards the cross.
This is why our Lord’s words are both comforting and demanding. “Let not your heart be troubled,” he says. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He does not merely show us a way, as one guide among many. He is himself the way. He does not merely teach a truth, as one lecturer among many. He is the truth. He does not merely offer a better quality of life. He is the life.
Thomas asks a perfectly honest question: “How can we know the way?” The answer is not a technique, a programme, or a secret piece of knowledge. It is Christ. To know him is to be brought to the Father; to abide in him is to be held in the life of God.
And the way of Christ is not an escape from obedience. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” The Psalmist says the same thing in another key: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” God’s commandments are not a ladder by which we earn his favour. They are the shape of a life that belongs to him. Love does not ask how little it may do while still remaining technically acceptable. Love desires to remember the beloved’s words and to walk in them.
Yet our Lord does not leave us to manage this life by our own strength. He promises “another Comforter,” the Spirit of truth, who will abide with us for ever. The Holy Ghost teaches, reminds, strengthens, and makes Christ present to his people. The Church does not preserve the Gospel merely as an archive preserves an ancient document. The Spirit continually brings the words of Christ to remembrance, so that they may become living words within us.
This is especially precious when the world around us is noisy, uncertain, or afraid. Jesus does not offer the peace that comes from favourable circumstances. “My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth.” His peace rests upon who he is, and upon where he is going. He goes to the Father, and he will come again. The disciples may see him depart, but they will not be abandoned. “I will not leave you comfortless.”
So today we need not demand that God explain every wheel within every wheel. We are called to trust the One who sits upon the throne and who has made himself known in Jesus Christ. Let us receive his peace, keep his word, and ask the Holy Spirit to direct our steps. The way is not hidden from us: Christ himself is the way. And those who abide in him are never outside the presence of God.